I've been drinking massive amounts of coffee (and in place of coffee, Coca-Cola) for years - as long as I can remember.

Late last year after my little trip to the hospital that I shared with you all, I really started to take my doctor's advice seriously and eliminate caffeine from my diet completely. It's been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. Harder than putting up with Scrap over the years. No kidding.

I've learned something very important over the course of the last 6 months or so... Caffeine should not be taken lightly. It's a serious drug that causes physical addiction.

I know this because I've experienced first-hand the withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms have been so severe that they have cut into my social life, my professional life, and, well... my blogging life. I simply don't have the energy that I used to. I think it's been pretty obvious that my posting habits have changed radically since the first half of 2007 or so.

I've spent a lot of time doing research on Caffeine and wanted to share some key points that I have found on the web and various medical literature.

The caffeine withdrawal syndrome has been well-characterized in numerous rigorous double-blind studies. The potential for caffeine withdrawal to cause clinically significant distress or impairment in functioning is reflected by the inclusion of caffeine withdrawal as an official diagnosis in ICD-10 (World Health Organization) and as a proposed diagnosis in DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association). Although most research on withdrawal has been performed with adults, there is also evidence that children experience withdrawal effects during caffeine abstinence.

The most commonly reported withdrawal symptoms are listed below:

Headache â€“ (often described as being gradual in development and diffuse, and sometimes throbbing and severe)

I am embarrassed to admit that I have suffered from ALL of the above mentioned symptoms since late 2007.

You know what's really sad? I've been to some of the best and brightest doctors around. I stumped them all with the above symptoms. It wasn't until I and my general practitioner were talking about my diet and caffeine intake did the light go on for both of us... I googled "caffeine addiction symptoms" on my iPhone and we both sat there and got a good education.

The monkey pleads with you... if you're trying to quite caffeine, don't give up! It's very hard but you can do it. I'm down to a few cups of decaf every day and that's it. I'm hoping to completely wean myself over the next few months. It's not going to be easy at all.

Thanks again for being patient. I realize that most bloggers don't dump their souls in their blog, but I feel that we all have a close enough relationship that I can fling this upon you and not get too badly injured. :-)

If you have your own experiences quitting the evil bean I'd love to hear them.

Some name

Security Monkey is an expert investigator of computer crime for businesses small and large. His background includes military and federal experience in intelligence, electronic countermeasures, and signal and information interception.